I bought Beloved a camera for Christmas (not through Amazon, that's just the quickest link). Not Solstice, b/c I don't make cameras. But for Christmas. At my parents' house. I ordered it on the Tuesday before Christmas, and paid for 2nd day delivery, with it due to arrive -- GUARANTEED -- by Friday. But it looked like it would actually come on Thursday.

It didn't come Thursday.

It didn't come Friday.

I checked the tracking on Friday night, and it said that the expected delivery date was the 22nd (Friday). But I guessed that since it was 11 p.m., they just hadn't updated.

I called on Saturday a.m., and they said at one of the transfer points the package had accidentally been shipped ground, even though all the paper work said express. They said they hoped it would arrive on Saturday.

But we were leaving! To my parents' house.

We were going to leave at noon, but b/c I was working with DHL to see if I could perhaps stop by the local whatever-the-heck-they're called --- shipping centers? Warehouses? The place hte big truck drops stuff off and then they sort stuff onto small trucks and send it out to houses --- we left late.

We left for my parents' house right AFTER DHL told me that no, my package wasn't going to arrive, and I could not pick it up, b/c it was in Pennsylvania.

I tried to let it go, b/c really, for us, Christmas isn't such a big day. I could give it to him the day after without popping any magic bubbles or anything.

It came Wednesday.

But it didn't have a memory card at ALL. I couldn't tell when I ordered it what kind it took, and I assumed it would come with a small one -- but I was wrong. It came with none. So he had his camera, and he could gaze at it, and hold it, and read the book taht goes with it, but he couldn't USE it. So then I went on Amazon and ordered the card. I (foolishly?) paid for the OVERNIGHT (i.e., NEXT DAY) shipping. I ordered it at 10:40 p.m. on Wednesday, and it shipped Thursday morning.

Today I returned from the Berkshires to find a note on the door.

UPS had been here. No one was home. They'll be back on Tuesday.

So I paid overnight shipping, and it's coming approximately a week later.

It makes me so MAD.

Why would I pay for overnight when I knew I wouldn't be home, you may ask?

Well, I was home by the time our usual UPS guy comes by. Not only that, but the UPS guy who regularly delivers to our house also delivers to Beloved's work, and he can always tell Beloved while beloved is at work whether or not we have packages, and he often gets it off the truck and gives it to Beloved then and there.

But (of course) TODAY -- due to holiday back log --- they split our route b/t two drivers. Not only did the other (bad, mean, horrid, nasty) driver come to our house at like ... 2, instead of 6, but he didn't go to Beloved's work first.

It made me mad. Obviously.

So now, Beloved will not get to use his camera for 2 weeks after it was bought.